KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – This season's Big 12 women's tournament
is far from typical for Oklahoma.
|  | | Rosalind Ross, left, and the Sooners found a way past Kansas into the Big 12 semifinals. Ross scored 17 points. |
Before Wednesday, the top-seeded Sooners were the only conference school not to win a tournament game.
But that changed after Rosalind Ross scored 17 points to help No. 7 Oklahoma beat Kansas 87-61, giving the Sooners a semifinal berth.
"This is the first time in Kansas City that I didn't have to
shed tears," said Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale. "We're glad that
it's over. The first tournament I brought one outfit. This year, I
packed them all."
The Sooners (25-4, 16-1 Big 12) started the game with a 13-0
run, then held off a second-half rally to reach Thursday's
semifinals. Oklahoma, the Big 12 regular-season champion, was
16-of-26 from the field in the first half en route to a 40-26
halftime lead.
Ninth-seeded Kansas (12-17, 5-12 Big 12) trailed by 15 points
before going on a 7-0 run with 13:18 left to cut the lead to 51-43.
But Ross scored six straight points and Kansas couldn't recover.
"There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to come out
of it," Sooner guard Sunny Hardeman said. "We've been through
this before. We knew what to do."
Hardeman and Stacey Dales had 12 points each and LaNeishea
Caufield 10 for Oklahoma. Ross hit 4-of-5 3-pointers as Oklahoma
shot 66.7 percent from beyond the arc.
"Rosalind Ross was just outstanding off the bench for us,"
Coale said.
Jaclyn Johnson had 21 points, Jennifer Jackson added 11 and
Brooke Reves 10 for Kansas.
Kansas beat Oklahoma State 66-56 in the first round on Tuesday.
Following Wednesday's loss, coach Marian Washington tried to hold
back tears.
"In the locker room, I focused on my seniors," she said. "I
have three wonderful women. A lot of people don't know about the
ups and downs this season. But they carried us through it."
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ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
Kansas Clubhouse
Oklahoma Clubhouse
Big 12 Conference tournament schedule
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